Sometime soon, a professional chef will arrive at Cynthia Beaumont’s front door in North Bergen, NJ, to cook a week’s worth of healthy, delicious dinners featuring whole grains. Ms. Beaumont was the Grand Prize winner in the Whole Grains Council’s recent contest called “I Love My Whole Grains,” where consumers were invited to send in photos (and short stories) describing how they most enjoy whole grains.

Ms. Beaumont’s winning photo was titled “Teaching Mom to Look for the Seal;” the short essay accompanying the photo said, “My Mom has Diabetes and I am showing her how to look for the Whole Grains seal. I am always telling her how important it is to eat Whole Grains and how Whole Grains break down slower and help to regulate & stabilize her blood sugar. I do not have Diabetes but it runs in the family so I am very aware of what I eat. To have a chef come in and cook for Mom, Hubby and I would be a wonderful learning expericence for us all.”

Two top chefs, Paul Lynch of FireLake Grillhouse and Cocktail Bar in Minneapolis, and the team of Joel and Mary Schaefer of Allergy Chefs in Florida, are now checking their schedules and vying for the honor of providing Ms. Beaumont’s prize. “I love the idea of providing a whole grains makeover to the winning family,” said Chef Paul, while the Schaefers began brainstorming delectable menus based on their expertise in cooking with a special-dietary-needs twist.

First Prize winners, who will each receive a library of ten whole grain cookbooks, are Katie Northcutt of Haslett, MI for her entry “Whole Wheat Pizza with Black Beans and Spinach” and Karly Kent of Carlsbad, CA for “Things that Make You Go YUM!”

 

These top three winners will also receive a “whole grain pantry” of delicious food samples, as will the 45 Second Prize winners, listed here with the names of their entries:

Keri Anderson, Provo, UT – “Whole Wheat Penne and Shrimp”
Jennifer Anhar, Kenmore, WA – “Yummy My Belly Can’t Wait”
Walter Arnett, Charleston, WV – “Alex Likes Sandwiches”
Shauna Barfuss, Tremonton, UT – “Paisley’s Pasta Pumpkin”
Kristy Blackstock, Concord, CA – “Whole Grain Mac and Cheese”
Vanessa Bonnin, Malibu, CA – “Whole Wheat Quiche with Bacon, Cheese…”
Heather Bowie, Berwick, ME – “Fun in the Kitchen”
Marcie Bricault, Ft Lauderdale, FL – “Nourishment for Body and Soul”
Susan Burton, Sullivan, IN – “Barnyard Breakfast”
Nicole Carpenter, Shelton, CT – “Whole Grain Peanut Sauce Pasta”
Darryl Chan, Clayton, CA – “Whole Grain Banana Bread at the Tea Party”
Mary Clark, Durham, NH – “Catch in the Act”
Kathy Copeland, Phoenix, AZ – “Cracker High in the Canadian Rockies”
Megan Curtis, Tremonton, UT – “Miss Independent”
Laura Donovan, Kittery, ME – “Laura’s Feel-Good Yummy Kashi Breakfast”
Kathy Gillmore, Greenbrier, AR – “Molasses Oatmeal Cookies”
Meg Gould, Weehawken, NJ – “Whole Grain Oatmeal Pancake”
Merry Graham, Newhall, CA – “Let Me Count the Ways”
Tiffany Haugen, Walterville, OR – “Movie Night”
Amanda Hughes, San Diego, CA – “That Sandwich is as Big as Her Head!”
Paula Kitterman, Novato, CA – “Getting Healthy with Whole Grains”
Kim Koch, Portland, OR – “Gotta Have My O’s”
Kristi Lynn Kruse, Huntsville, AL – “A Sandwich for the Heart”
Michael Lastufka, Cedar Hill, TX – “Eating Whole Grain is Fun!”
Mekkin Lynch, Biddeford, ME – “Fit for Egyptian Monks”
Sally Wallace Lynch, West Hartford, CT – “Sneaking it In”
Judy MacDonald, Eliot, ME – “Real Food, Real Happy”
Liz McMann, St. Paul, MN – “Homemade Granola”
Al Miladoravich, Alameda, CA – “Al’s Kick Start”
Theresa Moeggenberg, Cincinnati, OH – “Can You Tell Mommy Loves Me?”
Miriam Morgenstern, Westford, MA – “Quinoa Salad in the Grass”
Kristy Nissley, Ellinwood, KS – “Homemade Bread”
Barbara Nocera, Plainville CT – “Sneaking a Cereal Bar”
Alexandra Oppenheimer, Larchmont, NY – “In this Kitchen, It’s Whole Grains or no Grains”
Kathy Patalsky, New York NY – “Kitchen Sink Granola Bars”
Ellen Peterson, Mahtomedi, MN – “Millet with Chickpeas”
Tami Reed, Berkeley, CA – “Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes”
Gracia Roemer, Ogden, UT – “Pumpkin Granola with Maples”
Holly Ryan, Ypsilanti, MI – “Jack Enjoying Whole Wheat in Total Cereal”
Beth Schulefand, San Diego, CA – “Sprouted Whole Grain Waffle”
Stefanie Schmidt, Las Vegas, NV – “The Perfect Whole Grain Snack”
Josie Shapiro, Chicago IL – “Clean Bowl, Full Belly”
Isabel Tjan, Corona, CA – “Kayla Loves Her Oatmeal”
Terry Vanbuskirk, Taylorsville, UT – “Brown and Wild”
Ginger Virga, Laguna Beach CA – “I Love All the Healthy Choices”

For a limited time, all the winning entries and more information about the prizes can be seen on our contest website.  (Winners: you’ll be receiving a letter in a few days with all the details about how your prizes will be coming to you!)

Cookbook prizes include:

The Oldways Table, by K. Dun Gifford and Sara Baer-Sinnott
Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way, by Lorna Sass
Whole Grains for Busy People, by Lorna Sass
The Power of Flour, by Tiffany Haugen
Whole Grain Baking, by King Arthur Flour
The Complete Whole Grains Cookbook, by Judith Finlayson
Simply Organic, by Jesse Cool
The New Whole Grains Cookbook, by Robin Asbell
Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads, by Peter Reinhart
Betty Crocker Whole Grains, from General Mills

Food Pantry prizes include a selection of delicious whole grain foods, to help our winners discover some favorite new ways to enjoy 48g or more of whole grains, every day:

a box of 5-Grain Elbows and Cheddar (Annie’s)
a package of multi-grain pancake and waffle mix and a discount coupon (Arrowhead Mills)
a box of Shredded Oats cereal (Barbara’s Bakery)
a box of Whole Grain Penne (Barilla)
discount coupons for Arnold’s Bread and Thomas’ English muffins (BimboUSA)
a bag of steel cut oats (Bob’s Red Mill)
a bag of Eagle Mills All Purpose Flour made with Ultragrain (ConAgra Mills)
two bags of Whole Grain Tortilla Chips (Corazonas Heart-Healthy Snacks)
a free coupon for any one of nine waffles, pancakes and French toast (De Wafelbakkers)
a tin of Klassic 3 Seed Krackers (Dr. Kracker)
a bag of sprouted 100% whole grain pretzels (Essential Eating)
2 coupons for free loaves of Nature’s Own 100% whole wheat bread (Flowers)
a 1-oz. bag of SunChips (FritoLay)
a package of Montana High Plains Wheat Berry Chili mix (Frontier Soups)
a free coupon for any Kashi product (Kashi)
a bag of brown rice (Mahatma)
a collector canister of whole grain rye bread (Mestemacher)
a box of instant brown rice (Minute Rice)
two boxes of cereal — Optimum Slim and Pumpkin Flax Granola — and a tote bag (Nature’s Path)
a package of boil-in-bag brown rice (Success)
a free coupon for a two-pack of Lean Pockets (Nestlé)
a one-pound bag of sorghum grain (Shiloh Farms)
a box of Flavor Variety Instant Oatmeal (Quaker Oats)
1 package Blueberry Premium Moist Granola (Anderson Trails)

Oldways and the Whole Grains Council thank all the contest entrants and prize donors for helping celebrate Whole Grains Month by making the “I Love My Whole Grains” contest such a lively success.